Disney's Dvd Proposal Angers Theater Owners

BadTigger

BadTigger

Active Member
Original Poster
<tt>
<tt> DISNEY'S DVD PROPOSAL ANGERS THEATER OWNERS
Thu Aug 18 2005 20:53:05 ET

The tension in Hollywood over declining box office receipts heated up Thursday as the head of the trade organization for movie theaters accused the chairman of the Walt Disney Co., Robert A. Iger, of leveling a "death threat" against his industry, the NYT reports on Friday.


The trade official, John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners, was responding to a statement by Iger to Wall Street analysts earlier this month that movie studios need to accommodate changing consumer demand by releasing films simultaneously in theaters and on DVD.

"Simultaneous release would seriously damage the theater industry," Fithian said in an interview, referring to the prospect as a "death threat to our industry." </tt></tt>
 
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DarkMeasures

New Member
Well, I am sure people would start seeing movies at theatres again if every screen was updated to digital and the ticket price was lowered $5.
 
BadTigger

BadTigger

Active Member
Original Poster
They don't even have to lower ticket prices that much for me, all I truely want is pure digital screens in every theater. If they did that I would have no problem paying the 9 bucks I pay now to see a movie, but if my HDTV at home can give me a better picture I'll wait for the DVD.
 
Connor002

Connor002

Active Member
prices are what really get them, its not worth it to pay $18 when you can wait and see it on pay per view for $5

the only real advantage that thearters have is the fact that they have large screens and surround sound, but the average living room is slowly sreping up on them in that category
 
Connor002

Connor002

Active Member
BadTigger said:
They don't even have to lower ticket prices that much for me, all I truely want is pure digital screens in every theater. If they did that I would have no problem paying the 9 bucks I pay now to see a movie, but if my HDTV at home can give me a better picture I'll wait for the DVD.
Click to expand...

it's only $9 for you! :eek:

prices are even more insane here than i thought!
 
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CaliSurfer182

New Member
Wow it sounds like the beginning of the end for the theater medium. If dvd's are released at the same time as movies, I could see a dramatic drop in theater attendance.
I mean think about it most home entertainment systems are almost on par with theaters, plus people wouldn't have to get up and drive out to town, and people could watch things when they wanted to. Also there would be no more over priced candies and popcorns, you could eat from your kitchen. You could pause the movie when you needed to use the restroom. You would be losing out on the theater experience, but I guess times change.

I love going to the movies, but as it is I only pick blockbusters to watch on the big screen, because the rest I will just buy on dvd when they come out. Now if these mediums are simultaneously released does it really make sense for me to go to the movies with my family for $60 bucks (ten bucks a piece), when I can buy the movie for $19.99-$29.99?

Just my thoughts and ramblin opinions.
 
Robfasto

Robfasto

New Member
Since I don't go to the theaters it really doesn't bother me much...

It seems one way around this is the first release to be 3x more than the normal price ($60.00) for those how want it now OR you can wait 3 months at get it back at the normal $19.99
 
CAPTAIN HOOK

CAPTAIN HOOK

Well-Known Member
UK cinemas suffered a serious depression in the 80's and many closed due to the rise in popularity of video. If cinemas don't alter their pricing structures then many of the large multi screen complexes will close again.
However, I do think Disney would be wrong to release a film and its DVD equivalent at the same time.
 
MKCustodial

MKCustodial

Well-Known Member
CAPTAIN HOOK said:
UK cinemas suffered a serious depression in the 80's and many closed due to the rise in popularity of video. If cinemas don't alter their pricing structures then many of the large multi screen complexes will close again.
However, I do think Disney would be wrong to release a film and its DVD equivalent at the same time.
Click to expand...

Hear hear on all counts. If this proposal actually went forward, I don't think it'd change things for me. I mean, I love going to the movies and seeing films on the big screen. But that being sad, nowadays not only I choose carefully what I'm gonna see, I also don't do multiple viewings like I used to. I mean, you pay for the gas to get there, you pay for parking, you pay the ticket price, and then popcorn (which, at least down here, is basically as expensive as the ticket itself). Going to the movies is no longer the casual family outing it was 10 or so years ago.
 
Shaman

Shaman

Well-Known Member
BadTigger said:
<TT>
<TT>DISNEY'S DVD PROPOSAL ANGERS THEATER OWNERS
Thu Aug 18 2005 20:53:05 ET

The tension in Hollywood over declining box office receipts heated up Thursday as the head of the trade organization for movie theaters accused the chairman of the Walt Disney Co., Robert A. Iger, of leveling a "death threat" against his industry, the NYT reports on Friday.


The trade official, John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners, was responding to a statement by Iger to Wall Street analysts earlier this month that movie studios need to accommodate changing consumer demand by releasing films simultaneously in theaters and on DVD.

"Simultaneous release would seriously damage the theater industry," Fithian said in an interview, referring to the prospect as a "death threat to our industry." </TT></TT>
Click to expand...

I like that thinking, Mr. Iger....do we really need theaters anymore? Take out the middle man and release the stuff directly to DVD...I'm thinking more money will be made that way...

Disney has been experimenting with ways to deal with changing consumer habits.

I applaud their efforts. :D

:sohappy:
 
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tomm4004

New Member
CaliSurfer182 said:
Wow it sounds like the beginning of the end for the theater medium. If dvd's are released at the same time as movies, I could see a dramatic drop in theater attendance.
Click to expand...
Agreed. I'm not sure why Disney and other studios would want to do this. Don't they rely on people going to see a movie in theatres and then buying it on DVD? For example, I saw Revenge of the Sith in theatres (ah, let's just say more than once) and I'll buy it on DVD. But if it came out on DVD the same day, I would probably just buy the DVD and forego the theatre. Studios rely on that double hit.

I don't go to the theatre anymore in general (save Star Wars - which I'd been waiting for since 1977!) because of the incessant talking and the commercials prior to the feature - those are the main reasons.
 
FanofDinsey1981

FanofDinsey1981

Active Member
it really is too bad that the theatres can't keep up with the rest of us. There are a few in the area that are definatly worth going to, and the ticket prices are still decent. There is a drive in not to far from here, which is amazing to go to. and there are 2 theatres owned by one guy, they have the best in surround sound, digital everything, etc. one plays the blockbusters, the other plays independant films. I think the tickets are still 6 bucks. We also have 2 chain-type theatres, and the prices have been creaping up for the last 6 years. The student prices used to be good, they are getting to expensive now though.

I used to be able to get around the high prices and annoying crowds by taking in an early show during the week when Iwas in college. There is nothing like a Thursday noon showing of a movie for 4 bucks. But now that I work, there is no hope for me.

We save our trips to the movies for the big movies that need to be seen on a big screen, like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter and Star Wars....but we have a big screen tv at home with all of the digital hookups. Renting movies has gotten a bit expensive, so we switched over to Netflix, where for 25 bucks a month, we watch nearly 20-30 dvd's in that time frame. And Best Buy and Target always run deals for movies for 7.50 or 10 bucks. I would much rather watch a movie at home, on my very comfy couch, with my kitchen 20 feet away!
 
popkid

popkid

New Member
This is an interesting issue these days. While Hollywood blames the decline in ticket sales on pirates (argggg), I can't but wonder if a bigger contributing factor is the declining prices of home theatre systems. I just recently saw a 60" sony DLP for $5,000. Now while that is still quite expensive, it's almost like pocket change when you compare it to the prices from only a few years ago when sets were selling for more than a car.

So, now we have people dumping thousands of dollars into setting up a nice home system, why on earth do they want to go pay $9 a ticket, buy over priced refreshments and sit in an uncomfortable seat with a theatre full of rude stangers and crying babies? I for one can wait in 99.9% of movie releases for their DVD arrival when I can sit at home, eat pizza rolls (my favorite) and snuggle with my honey on the couch in the quiet and comfort of our own home...
 
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will_hsv

Member
popkid said:
This is an interesting issue these days. While Hollywood blames the decline in ticket sales on pirates (argggg), I can't but wonder if a bigger contributing factor is the declining prices of home theatre systems. I just recently saw a 60" sony DLP for $5,000. Now while that is still quite expensive, it's almost like pocket change when you compare it to the prices from only a few years ago when sets were selling for more than a car.

So, now we have people dumping thousands of dollars into setting up a nice home system, why on earth do they want to go pay $9 a ticket, buy over priced refreshments and sit in an uncomfortable seat with a theatre full of rude stangers and crying babies? I for one can wait in 99.9% of movie releases for their DVD arrival when I can sit at home, eat pizza rolls (my favorite) and snuggle with my honey on the couch in the quiet and comfort of our own home...
Click to expand...


These were my thoughts exactly after reading another article about Iger.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/19/b...&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print

My favorite line in the article is:

Instead, Mr. Fithian said, the slump was a result of the poor quality of this summer's movies, observing that declines of this magnitude did not happen because consumers suddenly decided they preferred DVD's.
Click to expand...

While this may be partly true, I tend to think that the availabilty of higher quality home entertainment equipment coupled with DVDs is driving the change. When the quality of the picture and sound at home begin to match that at the theater the experience becomes the differentiating factor, and my experiences at the theater are not so good.
 
CTXRover

CTXRover

Well-Known Member
A decision to release DVDs at the same time really would be a death sentence to the theater industry. Why pay $10.00+ per person to sit with a bunch of strangers dropping popcorn down your back, typing away text messages, talking, and being forced to watch "WANT FANTA" commercials over and over when you could buy the same movie for $18.00 for the whole family and watch it on your flat screen TV with sound systems that rival many theaters. Now I understand not everyone has a home entertainment system like that (I don't...yet;) ), but they are becoming more and more affordable and more and more people will start to have such systems in the near future.

That said, I do enjoy going to the theater to watch a movie. I enjoy the almost nostalgic feeling of going to see a movie. I personally don't want DVDs to be released at the same time because I imagine I might actually stop going to the theaters. However, if the movie-theater experience continues to cost me more and continues to become less enjoyable, having the option to just buy the DVD and watch it in the comfort of my own home might be something I would want. That said, Iger isn't the only one in Hollywood thinking this way right now. He's just the only one with the guts (or stupid enough, depending on how you look at it) to actually publicly say it.

Its certainly something worth considering I suppose. The way movies can be watched in the comfort of your own home is very different than it was 5 or 10 yrs ago.
 

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